The invention relates to an aircraft landing device and more particularly to a helicopter landing gear suitable for operation on various types of terrain.
A landing gear in accordance with the present invention is capable of supporting an aircraft on various types of terrain including snow, sand and mud.
Upon normal conditions, an aircraft can be expected to land on a hard surface runway or prepared landing area and a landing gear system is provided for operations under these conditions. This landing system usually adds a weight penalty to the aircraft that cannot economically be eliminated at the present time. Also, the landing gear system for normal landings may produce some aerodynamic drag which is somewhat detrimental in high speed flight. Since all aircraft must be provided with some landing system, the weight penalty and aerodynamic drag associated therewith must be accepted and minimized to the extent possible. However, where aircraft, particularly helicopters, operate over terrain where landing sites cannot be prepared, it is desirable that an auxiliary landing system be provided for buoyantly supporting the aircraft in the event a landing must be made under snow conditions on other than a prepared site.
A further problem exists in the landing of a helicopter in soft snow conditions. If the helicopter settles into the snow, the rotor blade clearance are reduced, making passenger discharge and pickup hazardous and it can lead to the tail rotor striking the snow. The use of skis on helicopters has not always proven to be effective in solving this particular problem.